17: The Revolution Will Be Visualized Memorializes Trayvon Martin

Today marks the two year anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s death. To remember the fallen teen, who was shot and killed at the age of 17, artist Andre Leroy Davis has a special traveling exhibit that opens today at Stratosphere Studios in Brooklyn. Titled “17: The Revolution Will be Televised,” Davis tapped 17 different artists to create Trayvon Martin-inspired pieces.

“The idea for the show came the night of the verdict in the Trayvon case,” Davis said. “I was fired up and couldn’t sit down and draw like I usually would. The next day I said let me try and organize some other artists who I appreciate who are all about making some sort of statement”

Davis said that the exhibit, which will tour New York for three months, took so long to coordinate (the verdict was handed out July 13, 2013) because he was searching for the right venue. The show will stay at Stratosphere through Mar. 3, with an opportunity to meet the artists and curator for a candid discussion about the meaning of this project and how to carry that meaning forward on Mar. 1 from 3 to 6 p.m. Similar discussions will also take place on Saturday, Mar. 15, during the show’s run at Artifactz Studio Gallery in New Rochelle and on Saturday, May 10, during its closing run at The Art Gallery in Harlem.

Each artist was able to interpret the theme differently, expressing their own thoughts, concerns, grief, and feelings in the process. “It was people who I knew and in their soul were positive thinking and wanted to make change through their artwork.”

To Davis, the exhibit is an opportunity to memorialize Martin, but also raise awareness for the struggle that many black males face — to thrive during and beyond their teen years.